Paint brush support and wiper



May 15, 1956 R. L. MILLER 2,745,570

PAINT BRUSH SUPPORT AND WIPER Filed NOV. 6, 1952 INVENTOR.

fi 6 via/lab J2 Mai-WW @541 United States Patent PAINT BRUSH SUPPORT AND WIPER Ralph L. Miller, Chicago, Ill.

Application November 6, 1952, Serial No. 339,163

1 (Ilairn. (Cl. 2209ll) This invention relates to paint brushes and more particularly to a novel paint brush wiper and support which may be conveniently assembled and disassembled with respect to a conventional paint can.

A primary object of the invention is to provide a paint brush wiper which will not injure the bristles of the brush and which will direct paint from the brush to the bottom of the can without permitting the paint to enter the conventional groove in the top of the can.

Another object of the invention is to devise a wiper which affords a flat surface upon which the brush may rest on its side when temporarily out of use for short periods of time, thereby avoiding the necessity of sup porting the brush on the ends of its bristles at the bottom of the can in the usual manner, a practice which not only bends the bristles of the brush but permits paint in the can to splash on the handle of the brush.

Still another object of the invention is to devise a brush wiper and support such as above described which may be tightly wedged in the top of the can to prevent accidental disassembly, as for example when going up and down ladders.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a wiper at the top of the can which will not interfere with the handle thereof and which cooperates therewith to prevent excessive swinging of the can.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wiper surface which is smooth and arcuate to prevent damage to the bristles of the brush.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a preferred form of the invention applied to a conventional paint can;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure 1, with a paint brush shown at rest position in phantom lines;

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view on line 33 of Figure 1, showing the manner in which a paint brush may be wiped against the novel wiper; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the wiper taken from the inner or bottom side thereof.

Describing the invention in detail, the novel paint brush wiper and support device is generally designated at 2 and may be formed of metal, plastic, or any other suitable material, preferably having resiliency for a purpose hereinafter described.

The device 2 comprises a fiat plate or support member 4 preferably formed with arcuate lateral edges 6 and a "ice flat rear edge 8. The member 4 comprises spaced arms 10 preferably having flat forward edges 12. The arms are preferably formed by slitting the member 4 at as 14 and bending the member 4 between the slits 14 (Figure 4) to form an inturned or depending flange 16 which preferably is arranged at an acute angle to the member 4 to define an arcuate wiping surface 17, as seen in vertical cross section (Figure 3), against which surface the bristles 18 of a paint brush 20 may be wiped as shown in Figure 3.

The ends of the flange 16 are preferably reflanged, as for example by bending to form upwardly or outwardly diverging lugs or ears 22 which may be wedged against the underside of a rim 24 on a conventional paint can 26, so that the resiliency of the device 2 causes the ears 22 to clamp the rim 24, thereby holding the device 2 snugly on top of the can 26, as shown in Figures 1-3.

It will be understood that, if desired, the support memher 4 or the flange 16 may be formed of rigid material, provided that the connection of the ears 22 to the flange 16 is resilient so that the ears may clamp the underside of the rim 24 as above described, although this clamping feature may be eliminated if desired.

It may also be noted that the forward edges 12 of the arms 16 preferably are arranged to afiord a stop for a handle 23 hinged as at 39 in the usual manner to the can 26. Thus excessive swinging of the can 26 on the handle is prevented by engagement of the handle with the for Ward edges 12 of the arms 10.

The novel device 2, as above noted, may be formed of any suitable material and may be manufactured to suitable size to fit any standard paint can regardless of size or configuration.

I claim:

In a paint brush wiper and support for a can having an inturned rim and having a hinged handle; the combination of a flat support member of deformable resilient material, said member having spaced integral arms coplanar therewith, said arms and said member adapted to seat at the underside thereof on the top of said rim, said arms being of sufficient length to extend approximately to a vertical plane defining the hinge axis of the handle, said arms being adapted to engage the handle to limit excessive swinging of the can when carried by said handle, an integral downturned flange on said member between said arms, upwardly diverging ears on said flange at respective ends thereof, said ears extending upwardly from said flange and adapted to wedge against the underside of said rim, whereby the resiliency of said material accommodates resilient clamping of the rim against said member and arms by said ears, and an arcuate brush wiping surface at the juncture of said flange with said member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,435,036 Ferguson Jan. 27, 1948 2,469,864 Craft May 10, 1949 2,478,291 Litwaitis Aug. 9, 1949 2,542,737 Vogel Feb. 20, 1951 2,567,326 Entsminger Sept. 11, 1951 2,621,829 Bock Dec. 16, 1952 2,676,730 Hedglon Apr. 27, 1954 

